Everyone’s heard that green tea is good for your health, but what does that mean exactly? The health benefits of green tea vary since it contains a ton of healthy vitamins and antioxidants. We’ve made a list of 6 health benefits of green tea you should know about!
1. Keeps You Hydrated
When you drink green tea without any add-ins like sugar, it’s a great alternative to water. No matter if you want to drink it cold or hot, this beverage is sure to keep you hydrated throughout the day. Staying hydrated is important because if you don’t, your heart will have to work harder to pump blood throughout your body. Our bodies are made of over 60 percent water, so you want to replenish that water throughout the day. Drinking green tea can help you with your hydration goals!
2. Less Caffeine than Coffee
Green tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant that all true teas come from. It goes through a heating process, then the tea is dried to prevent oxidation. By not being oxidized, green tea has less caffeine than black tea, and it definitely has less caffeine than coffee. The average amount of caffeine in green tea ranges from 24 to 40 milligrams, while coffee has 95 to 200 milligrams. Caffeine is bad for your health since it can cause insomnia and prevent you from getting enough rest. It can also cause tremors and a fast heartbeat. The exact amount of caffeine in green tea will depend on the brand and how the tea was processed.
3. Contains L-theanine
L-theanine is a natural compound found in green tea. According to this study, L-theanine and the amount of caffeine in green tea can improve brain function. While large doses of caffeine aren’t considered healthy, it is a stimulant that can help you concentrate and focus. L-theanine is an amino acid that can cross the brain blood barrier and relaxes you without causing you to feel drowsy. This compound enables people to focus on what they are doing, keeping their energy stable instead of feeling jittery like if they drank coffee.
4. Contains Antioxidants
Green tea has a ton of antioxidants, which are essential to overall health. These substances not only prevents LDL particles from oxidizing, they also might protect against cancer. Catechins, a natural antioxidant found in most green tea, help prevent cell damage. Antioxidants might even play a part in preventing cataracts and blindness in our eyes.
5. Reduce Stress
Some studies have been done to see how drinking green tea affects stress levels. Many have found that certain components of green tea can reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, over a long period of time. It might even reduce the spike in cortisol in stressful situations. Even the process of making a cup of hot green tea could be a stress reliever. No matter how you decide to brew your tea, just taking 5 minutes of your day to heat the water, steep the leaves, and pour it into your mug can reduce stress.
6. Can Improve Heart Health
According to a variety of studies, drinking green tea and heart health are linked. Green tea has a compound called polyphenols that lower inflammation, preventing cardiovascular disease. Since green tea has plenty of antioxidants, it prevents bad cholesterol from oxidizing in the blood. By preventing this oxidation process, your LDL cholesterol will be lowered, preventing cardiovascular disease.
Steeping Your Tea
We know that some people don’t like the flavor of green tea, but you could be steeping it too long or in water that’s too hot, creating a bitter flavor. Green teas should be steeped in 180-degree-Fahrenheit water for 2-3 minutes. To get boiling water to 180 degrees, let the water sit for 3 minutes or add a splash of cold water to the boiling water.
We hope knowing the health benefits of green tea will help you with your health goals! For any other concerns about your health, know that we are always here to assist you in any way we can. Let us know if we can help you today!
